Hazy Shade of Winter
by Yonahdoxie57
Summary: Cas and Dean take on a winter vortex to take out a small vampire nest in the mountains. After being ambushed, the two now struggle to survive, while freezing where they are chained up together and tortured. Some mystery but total WHUMPAGE! No smut just fluff. hurt!Dean hurt!Cas and some nice Destiel-if-you-squint or can be read as just a friendship. ENJOY!


When Cas woke up and he actually felt cold for once. He found himself tied by the wrists with a chain that led from one wrist around a thick wooden beam and back to the other wrist. He sat up and leaned his back against the sturdy beam in the middle of a small room. He tasted blood in his mouth and his head wouldn't stop pounding or his ears from ringing. The memory came back slowly. A large assailant had pummeled his face bloody till he passed out atop snow. Suddenly, because the idea of cold snow, Cas was reminded of Dean being envious that Castiel could not feel cold. Cas recalled that Dean was with him and had also been attacked. Did he survive? Where could he be? Maybe he would wait till the snowstorm died off before rescuing him or he went to call Sam for backup. Cas shivered as he pulled on the chains lightly. They glowed a thin line of gold along the rims of the bright silver and didn't break under Castiel's regular strength. The chains took every strength and power of Castiel's grace and made them null and void. He could feel his lack of power. He shifted to sit more comfortably on the freezing hard dirt ground and that was when he noticed another length of chain also looped around the beam. This chain was black and a little rusty, and was connected to his best friend laying on his side facing away from Cas.

"Dean!" Cas crawled over to him and turned him onto his back, he immediately regretted not being gentle with his head. There were only two wounds a gash on the back of Dean's head and a gaping vampire bite in his neck.

"Shit." Cas breathed. He remembered everything now.

Sam stayed home with his research while Dean and Cas went out in the snowy weather to take out a possible vamp nest. It shouldn't have been too big of a family, and it wasn't. The snow had come down so thickly the last night that all the local schools and most of the businesses were closed for the day. Dean and Cas drove in yesterday, but their drive time nearly doubled due to the weather, and with other drivers not knowing how to handle their cars in the snow, they agreed to crash at a tiny hotel in town for the night and get a fresh start on the nest in the morning. Dean called Sammy last night to let him know what was going on and it was a good thing too because the hotel lost power at some point in the night and Cas and Dean's phones died, since they couldn't charge and they were already low.

Dean was laying in his hotel bed when he rolled over and reached to bring the cover up to his chin. He couldn't get comfortable so he opened his eyes to see Cas, fully clothed, lying on his back on the other bed simply staring at the ceiling. Cas didn't even get under the blankets or take his shoes off. Although, he did politely hang his feet off the end of the bed.

"My God, it's cold." Dean spoke up and his voice cut through the dark room that only knew light from the edge of the curtains allowing the streetlamp glow inside.

"Yes. We lost power nearly an hour ago." Castiel reported.

"Aw man. The snow is really beating this town up."

"The human body cannot sleep in sustained temperatures less than about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. There are, however, many factors that can affect that resistance."

"Well it's freakin' below freezing outside so it's only a matter of time it gets that cold in here."

"But we are shielded from the wind inside. As well as insulated."

"Are you cold?"

"I don't really care about coldness or lack of warmth. It's not that I don't feel it, it's more like it doesn't affect me." Cas was being so formal and he never took his eyes off the ceiling.

"So… Are you cold?" Dean asked again.

"Yes." Cas admitted quickly.

"Well let's just go get those vamps then. If we're gonna freeze either way, we can atleast get a workout while we freeze our toes off."

"Yes. I agree let's compete the job. The local television weather man said the winter storm is only going to get worse tomorrow and the next day. I doubt the power will be back on any time soon."

Dean packed up his few personal items and they each popped their coat collars before going out to brace the fierce wind. The Impala wasn't parked far away but the snowflakes seemed to cut across their faces like needles and their shoes filled with another handful of snow with every other step. The white stuff was almost as high as their knees, and the Impala was buried behind a mound of snow made by a snowplow truck a few hours ago. Dean started to kick the snow away from behind the back tires when the hotel attendant came out into the parking lot all bundled up with a hefty snow shovel and helped them dig the car out.

Finally they got into the blessed Impala and slowly drove off. Thankfully they had time to defrost their popsicle fingers before getting out to the mountain area where they had intel that it was the vampires' lair, way out past any other signs of civilization, up higher into the mountain range.

They neared the destination, but there wasn't a house that Dean could see and he had no idea if there was a driveway to speak of. He was weary of driving the car off road in the thick snow so he pulled over onto the property and decided to go in on foot.

It was barely dawn but the sun's early light filtered through the clouds that were still depositing thick layers of snow and ice onto the Earth. The wind kicked up flakes and made slowly rolling dunes across the field that Dean and Cas were now traversing. They saw a small barn in the distance and had their weapons ready to chop off a few vampire heads. Dean tucked his chin and crossed his arms keeping his hands tucked away as best he could while gripping his favorite machete. Cas, however, let his unbuttoned trench coat fly and whip in the wind while his hands gripped into fists at his sides one gripping his one and only angel blade. He seemed unaffected by the cold but only slightly perturbed by the gusts of strong wind.

Dean glared at him enviously. "Are you not even a little cold?" He raised his voice over the wind.

"Not entirely. However, I am aware that my vessel could suffer frostbite if I'm not careful. Even my grace would take a long time to heal a frostbite injury."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Dean was slightly pissed.

"Angels were not built for cold climates. So we are not equipped with the means to better survive it, only endure for short periods."

"God, Are you even warm-blooded?"

"My vessel is. However I am more like-" Cas was cut off by Dean's demeanor.

"Nevermind. I don't want to know." Dean scoffed.

They came to the small barn. It was the size of a two car garage. Maybe for two small cars or one pick-up truck with room on the sides. It had one small door big enough for one person to pass through at a time. The walls appeared to be dilapidated and the siding and paint was decrepit. There were even a few shingles on the roof that hung on by a thread in the wind and flapped around. Even in this state of repair the building was solid and did not give way in the strong gusts of the snowstorm. Dean reached out for the handle thinking the movement might cause the whole building to collapse but was surprised to feel a well hung sturdy door. The door caught the wind and swung open wildly catching Dean by surprise. What happened next was more surprising though.

Cas immediately shoved Dean aside and swung his angel blade without question, his instinct as a soldier, there was a giant of a vampire baring his teeth in the now wide open doorway. After dodging the blade, the vamp violently lunged and threw Cas to the ground and started to beat his face into a pulp. Cas tried to struggle but the vampire straddled him across the chest and was much heavier than him.

"Cas!" Dean called but before he could help out his buddy another vampire came up from behind him and began to strangle him with a two foot long piece of black rusty pipe. Dean elbowed her in the gut, punched her face with the back of his hand and wiggled out of her grip. She took a few steps back to reevaluate her approach. Dean had his machete at the ready. He couldn't hear the sound of Cas' face being pummeled behind him but he couldn't afford to take his eyes off his attacker now.

"What do you want with us?" The woman seethed.

"We're hunters." Dean's voice was deep.

"Fine."

The both understood. Hunters kill vamps and vampires try to survive hunters. It's the way things were, there was no further need to discuss it.

Just then Dean was knocked face down in the snow by a blow to the back of his head from the hilt of an angel blade. He had only a few moments of consciousness left to turn his head and see Cas lying in the snow, face up, motionless except for his coat and fluffy hair catching the wind. Dean's eyes closed and everything went dark.

"Shit." Cas breathed. He remembered everything now. The bite on Dean's neck was absolutely hideous.

Cas touched the side of Dean's face and immediately felt how cold he was, but he was still alive and breathing normally. He pulled Dean's upper body onto his lap, took his warm trench coat off and wrapped it and his arms around his best friend. Cas leaned into Dean and desperately tried to warm him up. Cas wouldn't admit it but he was cold as well. Now, he no idea how much blood the vampires sucked out. Blood loss could cause someone to be cold but the barn, while exceptionally sturdy, was an icebox. The floor was just compressed hard dirt and the ceiling and walls had no insulation whatsoever. The walls were little more than two-by-fours and the backside of the plywood the siding was nailed to. Cas continued to check his surroundings. There was a workbench built into the framing of the barn along the back wall, opposite of the one single door. It had various hand tools on top as well as some old fashioned farm tools hanging on a peg board on the wall. Cas could tell his chains weren't long enough to reach the bench and the potential escape tools, but, maybe Dean would come up with a good plan once he woke up. Dean was smart that way. Cas held onto Dean tightly the way a child might squeeze his teddy bear during a storm. He needed Dean to be okay. He checked Dean's hands, they were as cold as ice. Cas adjusted and took off his suit jacket and slipped Dean's arms through backwards so that the jacket's back laid across his chest and the sleeves were long enough to cover his fingers. Cas tucked the trench coat back around Dean like a blanket and resumed his aforementioned cuddling.

It was about a half an hour later when the large male vampire and the agile female vampire came back into the small barn.

"Let. Us. Go." Cas demanded before they could say anything. He got no response from the pair. They only stared back.

"Now." Cas kept his strong facade.

Still nothing.

He decided to change tactics. He asked sweetly with a pleasant smile. "Please?"

No reply.

"My friend is hurt. And he's very cold." He pointed out.

Then the two turned around and left, closing the door but not before allowing a chilled draft in.

"No, wait!" Castiel yelled after them.

The cold air or Cas' yell caused a reaction from Dean. He let out a small moan behind closed lips and tilted his head closer to Cas' warm chest.

"Dean?" Cas leaned over to check his face but Dean was still unconscious.

Then the female vamp came back. In her arms she had two plaid fleece blankets wrapped around some medical supplies: few pieces of gauze, medical tape and a brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide. She tossed them next to Cas so she wouldn't have to get too close.

"Why didn't you bite me?" Cas asked gently, grateful for the small items.

The woman glanced with a confused look then shook her head no, while pointing at her nose.

"You don't like the way I smell?"

She only pointed to her nose again then turned to leave.

"Wait!" Cas raised his voice and she paused. "Thank you for this." He spoke softly. She gave no reply, verbal or otherwise but simply left again. The wind was so loud out there he couldn't hear her footsteps crunching in the snow. He couldn't determine where she was going. They didn't see any other buildings out there before. The tiny window in the door showed a night sky. Cas wondered how long he was knocked out. It must have been hours if it was already night.

Cas sat upright and adjusted Dean so he could clean the large bite on his neck where it met his shoulder. He used the hydrogen peroxide on the back of Dean's head through his hair and waited till the sizzling stopped. Cas wrapped a thin strip of gauze around Dean's forehead holding a larger piece in place over the gash. He had just enough leftover to cover his neck wound and used the tape to keep it in place. Cas couldn't do anything else for his friend without his grace. He tossed one blanket over his own shoulders and down his arms like wings. The other he laid across Dean's freezing limp body. Castiel took Dean in his blanketed arms once more and closed his eyes to rest. He prayed Dean would wake up in the morning.

The sun gave little clear light through the tiny window of the door, it was also overcast and cloudy outside. The small barn had been dimly lit by lights that hung on the ceiling that were turned off some time in the night and were still off for now. Cas was already asleep and hadn't even noticed when they were turned off by the female vampire who had come back after a few hours of delivering the blankets. The light that was entering through the window was enough to wake Cas, he had woken up several times during the night. Being without his grace was difficult. He breathed in through his nose and straightened his back that was sore from falling asleep leaning up against the beam. His movement was enough to rouse Dean whose brow furrowed with eyes closed. Dean let out a small noise from behind closed lips.

"Dean?" Cas spoke anxiously. "Dean, can you hear me? Wake up, please, wake up."

"Mmmwhat's wrong?" Dean mumbled and fluttered his eyes half open.

"Dean! Thank God. Tell me you're okay." Cas grabbed Dean's face with one hand while the other supported him from behind.

"Five more minutes, Sammy…" Dean was about to pass out again but Cas wouldn't let him.

"No! Dean! It's Cas! You were bit by the vampires. You probably have a concussion. You have to wake up. We're trapped here. Please wake up!"

"...Vamps?" His eyes opened halfway again.

"Yes and they bit you."

"Me?"

"Yes."

"You?"

"No. I don't know why not."

"Why...why are we in blankets? Where's your coat?"

"You were ice cold. I'm sorry, it must be awkward for you but I had to keep you close to keep you warm." Cas loosened his grip and shifted away from Dean a few inches. He was always reprimanding him about personal space and he ignored it for an entire night. "Dean, I'm just so thankful you're okay."

"But where's your coat?" Dean yawned and asked again ignoring the fact they were bundled up together.

"It's around you. Under the blanket here."

"Mmhmm okay good. I was worried you lost it."

"There are far more important things to worry about."

Dean began to sit up slowly but he wouldn't have made it without Cas grabbing onto his shoulder for support. Dean lifted his head to meet Cas face to face.

"Dude, what happened? My head..." Dean squinted then widened his eyes. The room spun around him and he felt nauseous. He brought his hand up to nurse his aching head and he noticed the bandage around it for the first time.

"Vampires. Remember? We came out-"

Dean cut him off. "No no no. I remember that bit. Your face. What happened to your face?" Dean stared at his friend out of empathy. The bruising and cuts looked painful and uncomfortable. Dean knew what it was like to have a half swollen face like that. The thing was that the swelling wasn't too bad. Maybe the cold helped out.

"The large vampire overpowered me." Cas was embarrassed to say.

Dean was gaining his wits with each moment. "But why haven't you healed? We need to take care of that."

"It's these restraints. I can't access my grace at all." Cas looked down at his hands.

"Oh, that's why mine look different. You have special angel ones. But how did they know?"

"It appears they know about angels. I fought with my angel blade and I believe they can smell it in my blood. They also had these restraints ready." Cas paused and checked his pockets. "My angel blade. It's gone."

"I think that's what hit my head."

"I'm so sorry, Dean."

"It's not your fault Cas. Don't worry about it. Hey, so, who patched me up?"

"I did, but, the female brought us these blankets and medical items for me to use."

"You did a really nice job. Is there anything left over for you?" Dean rubbed his neck where the patch was over the vampire bite. "It's a good thing Sammy and I showed you those first aid videos. You said you wouldn't need it because you would just use your mojo."

"Yes, I'm glad of that too." Cas' smile softened and he looked down. "I was really worried about you, Dean."

"Hey, buddy. I'm good now. Let's get you patched up too, okay? And thanks for taking care of me and for keeping me warm and stuff."

"Really? I thought you'd be upset."

"Nah man. It's cool. I'd do the same for you."

"You mean that?" Cas looked up again.

"Of course!" Dean returned the eye contact with an added grin.

Their moment was interrupted by a sweep of extra cold air brought in by the open door. Both vamps stomped into the barn. The woman pointed at Castiel with a strong straight arm and the large man stepped forward. He bent over and grabbed Castiel's chains. Unlocked them from the beam and began to walk away with the chains on his hands. Suddenly the chains became taut and Cas was being dragged away like a reluctant cat in a leash.

"Cas!" Dean yelled. "Hey tiny! Let him go!" Dean stood up quickly which made the edges of his vision blacken. Dean didn't have the reaction time to be able to dodge the incoming punch from the other vamp. She hit him so hard Dean went right back to the floor and he tried to get up on his knees and elbows. She then kicked Dean in the ribs easily and he collapsed, belly down, on the dirt floor.

"Dean, no!" Cas yelled while he was being dragged away. "Don't fight them you have a concussion!" The pleading in his voice was filled with raw concern. Then the door slammed shut and the barn was quiet again. Dean turned his face towards the door.

"Don't you dare hurt him!!" Dean yelled, through the walls into the snow outside, but it was too late. "Caaahs!"

Dean sat defeated on the ground catching his breath, holding his kicked stomach and trying to keep from vomiting. In a fit of rage he yelled one of his favorite curse words and violently yanked the chain attached to the beam. The one and a half foot square beam did not move a millimeter under Dean's rage. He felt like he could tear down the whole barn. He absolutely hated not knowing what was happening to his angel. He blamed himself for the trouble they were in. They shouldn't have flagrantly opened the door of the only structure in the place they were told there was a nest. It was stupid. It would have been better if he just blew the place up with the bazooka and they would have been home by now. Dean knew though that Cas wouldn't have let him do that outright.

A few hours of time had passed even though Dean felt like it was the entire day. He managed to fight back his aching head and he paced now, back and forth, as much as his chains would let him. Just about a yard to one side of the beam and another yard past it again. Dean took both blankets and wrapped it around himself while he walked. If he didn't know better he thought he could have been up north in Canada it was so unnaturally cold here. Then Dean heard a bang of a large flimsy wooden door and he turned towards the door of the barn. A few moments later the barn door flew open and blew in flakes of snow. Cas was flung over the giant vampire's shoulder. The woman, who had opened the door, seemed to have another blanket tucked under one arm.

"What did you do to him!?" Dean spat at the pair pulling his chains to get closer. The woman threw the rolled up blanket at Dean forcing him to catch it against his chest. Cas was haphazardly placed on the ground and his chains were wrapped around the beam again and then he locked the cuffs like Dean's. The vamp put the key into his pocket just before Dean threw himself at the vamp with all his remaining strength. He managed to throw him off balance but not off his feet. Dean couldn't throw full punches because if the chains but that didn't stop him from trying. The female vampire grabbed his chains and easily pulled him back with a jolt.

"Keep out of it bitch!" Dean yelled.

She sent Dean a swift kick to the stomach. Dean clutched his body and lay on his side moaning loudly in pain. The vampires strutted out of the barn and closed the door behind them. The second the door was shut Dean stopped his overly fake whining and immediately went to Cas. The kick had hurt but Dean had already got what he wanted: the key for the cuffs from out of the giant vampire's pocket. Dean skillfully picked his pocket when he shoved into him.

"Hey, hey hey hey. You're okay now buddy." Dean cooed over Cas who winced weakly at being held. He was surprised to see tears rolling out of Cas' eyes. "C'mon Cas, this is nothing. You got this." But Dean could tell it was serious. It seemed as if they beat Cas up even more. The cuts on his face were open again and fresh bruises mixed with the day old ones. The worst of it was Cas had been bitten twice, on either side of his neck. Both were ugly and bleeding down his white shirt. His tie had been loosened and his collar opened to gain unrestricted access to his flesh. Dean grimaced thinking of how they did it. Did they tie him up to a chair? Or force him down on the ground first? Dean hated both ideas. Was he even conscious for it? As of right now Cas seemed pretty out of it.

"D-Dean…" Cas coughed lightly.

"Shhh. It's okay. We're gonna get out of here. I have a plan." Dean half whispered.

Cas looked up at him in disbelief with his regular furrowed brows.

Cas spoke weakly. "Dean, the vampire, their leader…"

"Shut up, Cas. Let's get you up and running first. I'm not carrying you to the car through the snow."

Cas nodded in agreement.

Dean took a blanket and rolled it up to a pillow before carefully placing Cas' head down on it. The next thing that happened worried Dean down to his core. Cas visually started to shiver. He swore he heard teeth chattering for a moment.

"Are you cold? Like actually cold, cold?"

Cas nodded weakly.

"Is it because of the cuffs?"

Cas nodded again.

"Okay, that's it. Screw the plan. You're bleeding too much and I can't look at your face like that anymore. You're getting out of here."

Dean took the stolen key out from his pocket and twisted it into the hole of Cas' cuffs. He removed them quickly, threw them a few feet away and watched anxiously waiting for the bleeding to stop from the bites.

"D-dean…" Cas moaned and shivered.

"It's okay now, you can use your mojo and heal up and we'll get out of here." Dean was positive.

Cas looked up to Dean's happy little face with sad eyes and shook his head no through his shivers.

In a few moments, however, Castiel's face began to show signs of healing and was about to be completely back to normal.

"See! You're gonna be fine. Now, lay some mojo on your neck and we'll be good to go."

"I c-can't-t." Cas wheezed.

"But the cuffs?… What did they do to you?" Dean was enraged.

"There's-s another v-v-vampire. He's n-not like the others. H-he's a Brina Vampiro." Cas coughed lightly which cause more blood to escape his gaping wounds.

"Ok ok alright. Tell me later. I need to take care of this. You're losing too much blood. Okay?" Dean had turned to grab the few medical supplies that were included in the newest blanket delivery. It was obvious the vampires didn't want them dead, probably wanted to keep them as a food supply, kept barely alive. When Dean came back to Cas' side he noticed his hands lay softly, one on his chest the other palm up on the floor. Cas was not conscious anymore.

"Dammit!" Dean rushed to remove the cap from the disinfectant and released a deluge on the gashes. The pain from the sizzling made Cas' body writhe and Cas gritted his teeth breathing out through them.

"I know. I know." Dean cooed gently. He was just happy that he was awake again. "Stay with me buddy! C'mon!" Dean called out as Cas settled down. A forced hum came from Cas' mouth and nodded in reply.

Dean applied pressure to his neck until most of the bleeding stopped. Then he quickly patched up both wounds using the gauze and tape.

Cas' breathing slowly returned to normal except for the shivering.

"Hey. Is that better? Can you tell me now?"

"I'm t-tired, D-dean."

"I know, I know you're tired. They drank you dry then you lost more. Can you tell me why you can't heal? What's wrong? Tell me how to fix you!"

Cas moaned slightly behind closed lips and it was obvious he couldn't fight the sleep anymore. Dean gripped his shoulders but when he really looked at Cas' pained yet peaceful face he decided to let him sleep.

In case the vampires were going to come back, Dean brought Castiel's chains over to where they were. He would put them under the blanket so they appeared to be attached still. Dean covered Cas with the extra blanket and topped him with his trench coat. The other blanket was still under Cas' head so that left one for Dean and he laid down next Cas. The ground was hard and cold and it leeched what warmth he had. Dean turned to his side to face Cas when his arm under his head for a pillow. His expression had not changed, he peacefully slept but his body was under stress and it showed though his facial features and sight shivers. Dean closed his eyes to rest listening to Cas' breathing until Cas shifted to his side to turn inwards towards Dean. Cas' movement gave Dean reason to open his eyes. His initial reaction was to tighten up his muscles. After a moment, however, Dean relaxed. The two slept there together on the frozen ground.

The morning light came through the tiny window again. This time waking Dean first. At some point during the night Cas had instinctively moved closer to warmth and cupped his hands and face lightly against Dean's chest. When Dean realized this he reacted as before, he held his breath and tensed then released. He decided there was no need to freak out about it so he allowed his angel to stay there until he started to wake up as well. When Cas started to open his eyes he immediately jolted back away from Dean and made Dean jump, he didn't expect that from the peacefully sleeping angel at his side.

"I'm… I'm sorry!" Cas profusely apologized.

"Hey, calm down. Geez. It's fine. Don't open your wounds, dude. Chill out."

Cas relaxed but looked at Dean quizzically. Dean reiterated. "Really, it's fine. Hey we gotta get out of here before those vamps come. They're gonna see your pretty face and know we got you out of those things."

"You're right." Cas started to try to sit up but Dean launched up to help him.

"You doing okay?" Dean asked.

"I'm fine."

"Bull shit. You're still freezing."

"It's because of this." Cas sighed and pulled away a corner of one of the bandages from his neck. All around the edges of Cas' cut skin was a hard crusty light blue. It cracked and chipped. The skin underneath was a unique shade of purple.

"Is that...frostbite?"

"Yes. Or something similar. There is a third vampire, a Brina Vampiro, who lives here. The other two are just his slaves."

"What the hell is that?"

"The name is Italian, because until now they were only found in southern Europe, mostly Italy. They stayed hidden for centuries on mountain tops where no one would notice them."

"What do you mean?"

"They emit extreme coldness to their surrounding areas. People wouldn't notice because it's natural for mountain peaks to have snow. Also the Brina Vampiro takes those who would venture up into the mountain alone. No suspicion."

"How do you know about these things, Cas?"

"My Garrison was sent to deal with one long ago who became too powerful. It's also how I know angels can't heal frostbite very well. Many of my brothers and sisters succumbed to the freezing temperatures before we found her and killed her. Afterwards, it took several Earth days for us all to heal our vessel's toes and fingers, oh, and one nose."

"Shit." Dean breathed. "What did they do to you yesterday?"

"The two beat me, then, took me down a long stairwell that is directly underneath this building through a cellar door. I think they expected me to be unconscious but I remember it all. They brought me into his lair, and…" Cas moved his hand up to his bandaged neck and gently rubbed. Cas looked up at Dean with eyes that were so lost and scared. Cas couldn't relive it again, not even to explain it to Dean. "And…and he…" he trailed off to stifle the tears that threatened to leave his eyes. Cas squeezed them shut. While Cas was trying to turn his fear back into himself to keep it in, he suddenly felt warm strong arms around him. Dean had moved to sit closer to him and had pulled him into a fond hug. Cas inhaled sharply in surprise. Dean held Cas' bowed head to his chest and tucked the angel's fluffy hair under his chin. Dean held his head there with one hand and the other around his back hugging his shoulders.

"It's okay." Dean said softly.

"It hurt so much." Cas admitted on the verge of tears.

"Yeah, he did a number on you. You're not used to feeling pain. I'm sorry I couldn't save you from that."

"I was scared!" Now Cas cried into Dean's chest.

"I know. It's okay. I'll protect you." Dean knew how to hold someone who desperately needed to feel safe. He was so used to being there for Sammy. All those nights Sam couldn't sleep because he had learned about some new monster that day that their dad made him study. Such a young innocent thing reading about mutilations, death and violence among other terrors that no one should have to learn about, least of all a child. Dean hated to see his sweet little brother suffer and he knew Sammy put on a strong facade when Dad was around. So in those nights, when Dad was out for whatever reason and Dean could tell Sam was afraid and had been holding it in for too long, he simply hugged him against his chest and told him 'It's okay.', 'I know.' and 'I'll protect you.' as much as little Sam needed to hear it until he eventually calmed down and fell asleep in Dean's bed. Dean could feel it's what Cas needed too. Yes, Cas was an ancient, supernatural being who possessed unimaginable power, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know fear. In many ways Cas was experiencing human life at the pace of a child and Dean was experienced in being a caring parent.

Cas regulated his sobs and spoke without leaving the safehaven of Dean's hug. "Thank you."

"You feel better now?"

"I believe so."

"I'm not going to let him hurt us anymore. Let's get the fuck outta here."

"Yes, let's." Cas sat up and returned Dean's warm smile with his own.

"You feeling well enough to break my chains?"

"He took my angel blade."

"I'll find you another one, later. For now go over to that workbench and see if you can find something."

Cas stood up and sloppily put both his coats back on. He walked over past the point Dean could reach and found a large set of hedge trimmers.

"Will this work?" He asked over his shoulder.

"Like a charm!"

Cas returned to the eager Dean and easily snapped the chain link lock closest to each cuff on either hand. Dean sauntered over to the table and took the short scythe off the pegboard wall he had been eyeing.

"Let's go." Dean was determined.

Chain free and ready to rumble the hunter and his angel crept out from the small barn and emerged into the snowy weather yet again. The wind was strong enough to effect their pace. But they leaned into the wind and went in the direction of the Impala.

"They better not have touched Baby." Dean whined to Cas just as the black rectangular shape came into view in the distance.

But before Cas could reply, the female vampire had attacked Cas from behind and was now dodging Cas' punches. The howl of the wind covered the sound of her following them. Just then the large male vampire came at Cas from behind with his angel blade raised high.

"Nooo!" Dean yelled through the wind and he tackled him before he could reach Cas.

The giant swung the sharp blade at Dean. Dean blocked with the rusty, short handled scythe that he planned to use to cut off the vamps head. When Dean had a sudden opening he took it and shoved the curved blade into his neck. It was rusty and old and unfortunately did not cut all the way through his neck. The vamp dropped the angel blade in a panic and grabbed the scythe sticking out from his neck and tried to wiggle it out. Dean quickly grabbed the discarded blade and stabbed him in the chest and he began to fall forward towards Dean while he died. Dean was having trouble getting the angel blade out of his thick chest muscles and didn't have time to move out of the way before the large vamps body feel right on top of him crushing him into the snow. Cas saw this happen and knew he had to save Dean before he suffocated. Cas skillfully dodged a running attack from the female that left her falling behind him after he tripped her. He used the stolen seconds to run over to Dean crashing to his knees in the snow.

"Dean!" He yelled as he began to roll the giant dead vamp off of him. Together they both heaved the dead weight off. Before Dean could stand he threw the angel blade like a dagger into the heart of the charging female vamp, before she could reach Cas, stopping her in her tracks. Cas turned around surprised then stood and offered a hand to Dean.

"It's not supposed to be used like that. You don't throw it."

"Who cares! It worked." Dean teased back. He ripped the blade out of the dead things chest and handed it back to it's owner.

"It's not that I'm ungrateful."

"I know. It's okay, Cas. C'mon I got one more thing I need to do." Dean grinned and Cas had no idea what Dean was thinking.

They walked to the Impala and Dean unlocked and opened the passenger door. He gestured politely for Cas to get in. Cas looked confused but followed the simple order.

Dean tilted his head down into the car and said. "Gimme a minute, kay?" He grinned happily and couldn't hide his excitement. Castiel was confused and simply nodded.

Dean closed the door and hummed to himself as he sauntered to the truck. The snow whipped around him and the wind cut like ice through his jeans but he didn't care.

Cas sat alone in the cold car but he was happy to be out of the wind. He assumed that Dean was going to start cleaning the snow off the car so they could leave. He fiddled with the bandages on his neck and wasn't paying attention to what Dean was doing in the trunk. Then a large blast suddenly caused Cas to looked out the window just in time to see the explosion if what was probably the barn in the distance. Some of the snow on the car fell off. A few seconds past with Cas' mouth hanging open then the snow and wind almost completely halted. Now, a few gentle flakes glittered in the soft sunlight and fell sweetly onto the Earth like fallen feathers. The frost vampire was killed when the explosion crushed him in his underground cave below the barn. Dean shut the trunk hard enough to shift more snow off of the car. He cuffed his hand into his sleeve and pushed off an armful of snow off the back windshield. He came around to his driver side door and swept off a few more armfuls of snow till he determined his wipers could do the rest. Dean hopped into his favorite seat and sighed happily while he fondled the steering wheel. Cas slowly turned his head away from the burning building, mouth still ajar, to glare at Dean.

"What?" Dean acted as if nothing had happened. He acted as if there wasn't one less piece of bazooka ammo in the trunk.

"Dean…." Cas changed his attitude away from shock to disapproval.

"What?!" Dean said again like a child who refused to admit he was lying. "Let's go home. You can take all the time you need to heal up that frostbite in the bunker, where it's warm." Dean started the car.

"Why did you do that?"

"We came here to destroy the nest didn't we?"

"Yes, but-"

"Wouldn't you call that destroyed?"

"Yes, but-"

"I think I did a great job!"

"But Dean, you didn't have to…explode him."

"I did." Dean suddenly got serious. "He hurt you. You were scared of him. And I want to protect you from the things that scare you and hurt you. That's what brothers do. You deserve a real brother, not those asshats upstairs." He paused a fews seconds. Cas let his words sink in deep. He recalled how safe he felt when Dean had held him when he was at his lowest. Dean made him feel safe and wanted, just with a hug and a few words, something none of his brothers or sisters had truly made him feel in millennia. Cas wondered what he could do for Dean in return. Dean continued. "Do you feel safe now?" Dean asked honestly and he finally looked over to Cas in the passenger seat.

Cas glared back at him. "Yes, I always feel safe with you, Dean." Cas couldn't believe he admitted that so blatantly but it was too late to take it back. Cas watched Dean's expression turn into embarrassment and he waited Dean's reply.

Dean started the car and grinned with slightly blushed cheeks then replied with a happy chuckle.

"Shut up, Cas."


End file.
